Planning Commission begins drafting community and small‑scale solar rules, including array caps and siting limits
Commissioners and staff started drafting a text amendment to allow community (≤5 MW) or small‑scale utility solar with potential limits including array size caps (~30 acres for panel arrays), maximum acreage per radius, required studies, screening, and whether comprehensive‑plan review should be concurrent or prior.
The full story
At a work session commissioners asked staff to draft an ordinance amendment to explicitly allow community or small‑scale solar (projects up to 5 MW) and to create a framework distinguishing "small" and "large" utility‑scale projects. Staff presented options including limiting array area (initial discussion point: 30 acres of panel area as a starting point), restricting projects to RA and I‑2 districts or only industrial districts, maintaining a 100‑foot project boundary setback, and requiring studies (viewshed, fiscal impact, wetlands, cultural resources, glint and glare, pollinator habitat).
Sign up to keep reading.
Your free newsletter brings you what your city council, county, and school board discussed and decided.
Keep reading for free
Create a free account to finish this story and see the video, transcript and key details.
Continue with GoogleContinue with emailAlready have an account? Log in